There is a need for an aesthetically pleasing method of supplying electric, phone and data lines into conference and boardroom tables. Present solutions to this problem generally involve a metal box with or with out a lid, making it difficult for a designer to integrate it into furniture in a pleasing manner. Some designers solve this problem by recessing the box beneath a hinged access door, but this creates the problem of how to open the door, and how to avoid damaging the adjacent surface of the table while doing so.
Other designers offer interfaces that raise and lower the device, but these are all dependent on expensive electric devices to raise and lower the interface, resulting in a very expensive unit prone to failures of opening and closing.